Rep. Ken Buck: 'We're Behind In Getting Things Done'
By Stan Bush
GREELEY, Colo. (CBS4) - With the prospect of returning home to angry constituents, some of the most conservative voices in Congress are proposing staying in Washington to work on their stalled agenda.
"I believe we're behind in getting things done that the American people sent us to do," says Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colorado).
Buck is among a growing number of Republicans who floated the idea of cancelling the August recess over the weekend; citing the growing list of items on President Trump's agenda that have not been accomplished.
"The administration is not yet in place and there are hundreds if not thousands of jobs that need to be filled," says Buck.
Buck says Republicans in the House of Representatives still prioritize infrastructure spending, revising the tax code, and the 2017 budget still has not passed.
But working through summer vacation is really about one issue altogether – healthcare.
Multiple Senate Republicans floated a proposal on the Sunday political talk shows that if the Senate fails to pass the current repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare, then Republicans should repeal President Obama's signature domestic policy on its own and craft a replacement later.
Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse (R) told CNN's Jake Tapper that repeal should be done with a delay.
"I would want a delay, so that we could get straight to work. And then I think the president should call on the Senate to cancel our August state work period," said Sasse.
Republicans viewed repealing Obamacare without a replacement was as suicide on the 2016 campaign trail. Most said they would not vote to do so without an immediate fix. It is a position President Donald Trump repeated shortly after winning election.
Republicans know they can have the votes to repeal the law. The House voted more than a dozen times to repeal Obamacare without a replacement. In 2015 Senate Republicans voted 52-47 without the pressure of a replacement for healthcare knowing Obama would veto it.
Creating their own plan for the health care system has been more difficult. Nine Republican Senators openly oppose the current bill.
Utah Senator Mike Lee (R) told Face The Nation anchor John Dickerson the current bill process is too challenging.
"I think it's easier, sometimes when you lump too many things into one piece of legislation, you doom its likelihood of success and I fear that that might be where we are today," said Lee.
On Monday Buck said he would support repealing Obamacare without a replacement if the Senate cannot pass their current bill.
"We cannot continue to limp along," says Buck. "We've got to fix this and give Americans some long term security."
Stan Bush is a general assignment reporter at CBS4. His stories can be seen on CBS4 News at 10. Read his bio and follow him on Twitter @StanBushTV.
